Looking at a new aspen fifth wheeler does anyone know anything about this RV? looks alfull nice for less then 25,000

2005 fifth wheel 29rl
2006 Dodge 4x4 CTD

Posted By: retired in utah
on 05/13/05 06:47pm

The Aspen is manufactured by Western Recreational Vehicles in Yakima Washington. They also manufacture Alpenlite and Alpine Coach. Based only on my experience with my Alpenlite, I would say that the Aspen would be a quality RV. Western RV does a good job on their towables.

There is an Aspen Brand fiver that is made by Frontier RV in Longview Texas. I saw one in Amarillo at a dealer that is also one of the owners of the Frontier Factory. They do seem to be good quality for the price range. They just don't have the extras and frills that come standard on higher priced units. You can see them at frontierrv.com The company was started in 2002 so there may not be to much of a history on them yet.

We attended an alpenlite rally in March and 2 aspen fifths were there. We have a 35 ft 2001 alpenlite so we know what ours is so I was interested in seeing the aspen because it is a lighter fifth for lighter tow vehicles. It showed it would cost less but this isn't a bad thing as we all have different pocket books and needs. Alpenlite is making another fifth that will be between the aspen and the limited series. chevman

We were comparing Jayco Eagles with Forest River Wildcats yesterday when we saw an Aspen at a local dealer. After looking at a TT & a 5er, we concluded it was a nicer looking unit than the Eagle or Wildcat. The company was founded in 2002. They added 40,000 sq ft production space in 2004. The main problem we saw was limited floor plans. This will probably change when they are in business longer.

" Thank you for your interest in Frontier RV.
Frontier RV was founded in 2002 by a group of RV veterans with diverse background in our industry. Each member has over 30 years of experience with various RV companies including Fleetwood, Dutchmen, Keystone, Sunnybrook, and Forest River. What sets us apart from other companies is our passion for the RV lifestyle. Several of us are avid campers and have grown up in the industry. We know what we demand in our RVs and wanted to develop RVs that truly meet the needs of today’s and tomorrows RV buyer.

Our business model focuses on quality, value, and function. We produce value oriented products that provide features intended to enhance the RV experience.

To insure our stringent quality levels are met, we compensate our production employees based on the quality of the product they produce. This focuses there work on building RVs the right way instead of the fast way.

Longview TX.
We do not have fancy brochures, or a whole lot of costly marketing gimmicks. Instead we put all of our money where it counts – into the product. After all; you get to see the real thing at our dealerships and don’t end up paying for some expensive models or costly photography which ultimately would be passed on to you in the price of your coach.

Although we want our RVs to look good we believe it is more important for them to function well. If you are a first time RVer you might overlook our oversized sofas, metal drawer guides, well thought out floor plans, unobstructed storage areas and many other thoughtful designs that took years of camping to develop, but if you have camped in an RV before you will appreciate our products and experience the pleasures of the RV lifestyle the way it should be enjoyed..

We hope you find this website informational, but encourage you to visit one of our dealerships and see for yourself the many reasons why Frontier RV wants to be your RV company.

Glad to see some interest in the Aspen by Frontier Manufactured in Longview, Texas. We recently purchased the F3100 bunkhouse. We haven't picked it up from the dealership yet although we are excited about hitting the road. We were hesitant in choosing any mid-range unit as we previously owned a Hitchhiker Champayne Edition. Sadly, it developed a subwall leak and was totaled by the insurance company. We decided to shop at Explore USA off I-10 in Boerne, Texas after our local dealership recommended them to us because their bunkhouse did not suit us. We looked at the Aspen for about two months.

We decided to go for the Aspen because it was so highly recommended by Explore USA. They told us all the things listed in the previous post and we trusted them because our friends at our local dealership said we could. We have never had a more enjoyable purchasing experience. Lance Stewart, the manager and his sales staff are the kindness, most sincere people you could ever ask to meet. They have met every request and inquiry we have had and truly you cannot believe what a joy it is to spend your money there!! We look forward to getting out on the road and we are confident should we have any concerns, a phone call to Lance will take care of them. We intend to write a letter of appreciation to their home office but this also gave us a chance to recommend them to others.

Also appreciate the response to the previous post by Johnny Hernandez, President of Frontier RV. Mr. Hernandez, we have a question that may help others on this forum. Many people have written on forums stating they want to change from 15" rims and tires to 16". Having had 16" rims and tires on our Hitchhiker, we know we would like this option. Is it possible to do on the Aspen. Any comments you have will be appreciated.

If you will look at the previous post Mr Hernandes remarks are in ". I could not figure out how to cut & paste in the quote format offered by this forum & did not feel like typing all of that.

In other words the CEO of Frontier RV has not responded to this topic.

However, you can see his email is listed. Email him direct. Let us know his response.

* This post was
edited 05/15/05 08:49am by Newt *

Posted By: High Pockets
on 05/14/05 11:01pm

Thanks Newt. That is great information on the Aspen. I will contact Mr. Hernandez, as you suggest, and put it on the forum. We also want to go to "E" rated tires.

Posted By: 5erBob
on 05/16/05 09:14am

We picked up our Aspen F3100 a little over two weeks ago and couldn't be happier!! The only problem we had on our shakedown cruise was the fresh water tank wouldn't fill all the way due to a kinked vent line. They jammed an extra 5 inches of line into the wall cavity. I replaced the entire line with something a little more beefier and all is well now. Other than that this thing was perfect!! Worksmanship, quality, everything is just perfect. I haven't updated my website with pics of the new rig so I don't have any to show right now. As far as options go, this rig is loaded from the factory with all the popular options, china toilet, 10gal water heater, gel coat exterior, raised panel doors, etc.
The water heater is located right under the shower where you need it which I thought was a great idea as that is where you want it most of the time...furnace is also located right next to the WH in the underbelly so it is quieter. I like the fact that the WH and furnace are on the "other side" of the camper so you don't have to smell or listen to those applicances when you are sitting under the awning relaxing.

Sorry for the novel, but my wife and I are very pleased with this unit!
Bob

Thanks everyone for the help in making up our mines we have been looking at the aspen for awhile,look at a lot of RV's and keep coming back to the aspen
Well we sign the papers Saturday and hope to have it in two or three weeks.
We pick out the 29RL I think what sold me on it is the Never lube Axles and shock absorbers you don't see that on a mid-range unit also I like the idea about the water heater location.
Don

Posted By: dodge03
on 11/02/06 06:57am

I purchased a new Aspen F2900 in 2004. For the first year I had the trailer it was at the dealer or the factory for 6 months of the 12. It made four trips back to the factory in Longview,Tx. It made a trip to one of the places after every outing. I had trouble with the slide. It was binding up and made terrible noise going in or out and finally stripped the gears in the motor and left the slide out. The factory had to send someone out to run it back in for me before I could move it. This was after the dealer had worked on it 4 or 5 times. I also had a butane leak that neither the dealer nor the factory could find until I heard it spewing at the regulator. I also felt that the fit and finish on the interior was of poor quality. The factory replaced the roof after only 6 months. The rubber had been laid down over dropped screws and trash causing punctures in the rubber membrane. There were numerous other issues with the trailer that were final repaired.

That is the bad news but the good news is that the factory and dealer were very willing to fix the problems. The factory even agreed to extend my factory warranty for an additional year at no cost. We still have the trailer and I think we have all the bugs worked out. I have had several other 5th wheels and this is by far the easiest to pull that I have ever owned.